Application and Development of Ethnography in Library and Information Science Research

Abstract

[Purpose/Significance] Ethnography is a rigorous field of study that is favored by researchers in the field of library and information science (LIS) due to its ability to obtain valuable first-hand data. Some LIS scholars have recognized the significance of using ethnography as a research method, and it is necessary to review the application and development of ethnography in LIS research. [Method/Process] This paper collected data from CNKI and Web of Science Core Collection. By searching and screening data, a total of 69 empirical research articles (written in both Chinese and English) that utilized ethnography as a methodology in LIS field were identified. Subsequently, this paper used content analysis to systematically review the application scenarios, methodological expansions, application paths, and misuses of ethnography in LIS research. [Results/Conclusions] Ethnography can be applied to various application scenarios in LIS research. It is commonly used to address research questions in six research topics: information behavior, library construction and development, information society issues, knowledge management, information literacy, and fundamental theories and discipline construction. The research subjects encompass a broader range of information and data users. For example, information service designers and providers in libraries, intelligence agencies, information and data centers, Internet companies, government agencies, as well as socially marginalized and information-poor groups are all potential subjects that ethnography can describe. Most research typically involves fieldwork lasting six months or more. Both interview and participant observation are not only the most commonly used independent investigative methods in ethnographic research but also frequently employed in combination as a mixed-method approach. With the application and development of ethnographic approaches, new ethnographic types suitable for different contexts and paradigms have emerged, including autoethnography, netnography, visual ethnography, and institutional ethnography. Among them, autoethnography emphasizes reflexivity, netnography is suitable for new fields based on the network, visual ethnography responds to the demand for sensory-oriented research, and institutional ethnography focuses on addressing inequalities faced by marginalized groups. Autoethnography and netnography have become new types of ethnography that LIS scholars prefer to adopt. In specific applications, different research topics tend to use different types of ethnography. This paper not only reviews the application trends of new ethnographic types in difference research topics but also compares the differences between new types of ethnography and traditional ethnography in the practical applications. The aim is to provide application paths for applying ethnography to different research topics. Additionally, this paper also points out the misuses of ethnography in terminology usage, investigation duration, and data authenticity, aiming to enhance the understanding of ethnographic methodology by relevant scholars and promote the application and development of ethnography in LIS research.

Keywords

• ethnography|library and information science (lis)|field study